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yeah. the one that had the work done... good to see you. where do we go when we die? the ground. who's your girlfriend? his name is chad. and that's where babies come from. [ male announcer ] sometimes being too transparent can be a bad thing. this looks good! [ male announcer ] but not with the oscar mayer deli fresh clear pack. it's what you see is what you get food. it's oscar mayer. hi everybody. topping our agenda today big news about the president just hours away from embarking on his middle eastern trip and the ten-year anniversary of the iraq war to talk about. but the breaking news we want to get you to, nbc news confirming that seven marines were killed and at least seven others wounded in a live fire training exercise at the u.s. army depot in hawthorne, nevada. nbc news chief pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski joins us now with more on this. explain how it happened. >> thomas, u.s. military officials say this appears to be a very tragic accident.

these u.s. marines from camp lejeune here on the east coast were there doing live fire training with mortars at the hawthorne army depot in far western nevada overnight when suddenly one of those 60 millimeter mortar rounds exploded. there were conflicting accounts initially that the mortar round exploded unexpectedly obviously as the marines were loading it into the fire tube and another said that as they were lifting the round, one of them exploded, but seven marines were killed. four of them killed instantly. three died later. as many as seven others were wounded. two critically wounded. were taken to a trauma center in reno, nevada. the others were taken to a local hospital there in hawthorne, nevada. now, as i said, these marines are from the second marine division in camp lejeune. names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin, of course. the investigation is under way. it now appears to be nothing

more than a tragic accident. but we won't know that until the forensics are done on the scene and the explosion, itself. and this is a grim reminder, thomas, that, you know, even in military exercises, whether they're in or out of a combat zone, this is a dangerous, risky business. >> jim miklaszewski at the pentagon for us, thank you, sir. appreciate it. now to president obama's mission in the middle east. in just a matter of hours the president will board airforce one for a trip that could be pivotal in resurrecting his reputation in that part of the world. his first stop, israel, where he will speak directly to israelis and seek to reassure that country's people. then on to the west bank, a visit to the means to signify what the president wants to see of a two-state solution. finally on to jordan where he will reaform the stability of the u.s. bond with that arab nation. this will be the president's first visit since the revolutions that spring that hopes for democracy would bring. in his first speech since nearly

four years ago in cairo, in which he extended an olive branch and sought to heal deep divides with muslims across the globe. >> so long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace and this cycle of suspicion and discord must end. the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart. >> tonight at 9:30 p.m. eastern time will mark exactly ten years since the shock and awe bombing of baghdad that signaled the start of the iraq war a decade since the military precision strike that began years of death, insurgency, and occupation. >> -- to disarm iraq, free its people, and defend the world from grave danger. to all the men and women of the united states armed forces now

in the middle east, the peace of a troubled world and the hopes of an oppressed people now depend on you. >> it was a war that toppled the regime of saddam hussein but spawned years of civil war and came with a very heavy toll. more than 4,000 american servicemen and women lost, 130,000 iraqi civilians killed. total cost $2.2 trillion and still growing. we want to head straight to israel and the president's trip where we begin with nbc news white house correspondent peter alexander in jerusalem awaiting the president's arrival. explain the expectations at least from the israeli and israeli media that are waiting for the president who will depart from washington tonight. >> thomas, good day to you. hello from the holy city of jerusalem. that behind us right there is the old city. the president of course will be here less than 24 hours from now. i had a conversation with the former senior administration official who formally advised the president on israel, on middle east issues. and he says this trip in many ways sort of offers an opportunity for a reset of sorts

in terms of the u.s.'s relationship with israel. consider the video that you played a short time ago. that trip in 2009 where the president came to the middle east but he skipped israel. privately advisers would tell you the first year of the first term in some ways was a miscalculation. they hope to repair the relationship between the two countries in the course of stops here that will last less than 48 hours in the jewish state of israel, itself. but consider some of the ground work, the frame work in which this trip takes place. there was a poll that just came out a couple days ago that shows 10% of israelis have a favorable opinion of this president. as one woman i met a short time ago said we very much want to like president obama but we haven't been impressed so in many ways the effort is to try and win over the hearts and minds of the israeli people. the speech here is not taking place as normally in the knesset, the israeli parliament, but instead in the jerusalem convention center with an

audience of young people many of whom bussed in from areas across the country. behind the scenes the conversations with simon perez and benjamin netanyahu the president and prime minister of this country of course will focus on the peace process and perhaps most significantly on the situation with iran. thomas? >> peter, thank you. here with us the former u.s. ambassador to morocco and also former white house middle east adviser and current president of arab tv. >> shalom, thomas. >> mark, good to have you here and especially as we talk about the president's trip. "the washington post" has outlined what this trip means from president obama to israel and it is a pretty daunting list. it is to reaffirm the u.s. commitment to israel, security talks about iran's nuclear weapons program, also israel's red line. discuss the movement of arms into the syrian rebel territory on the lebanon border.

are the president and benjamin netanyahu likely to find common ground? as peter points out in such a short period of time? this is just a quick trip. >> there is no doubt, thomas, that they've had a very difficult personal relationship with each other. but the president has consistently supported israel's military goals and objectives and to secure it and he in fact, his first stop is going to be visiting the iron dome antimissile installation when he arrives. insofar as the personal ties between the two men it's been probably part of the reason why the president's standing among the israeli public has been so low. not that netanyahu himself is not at fault for this dysfunctional personal relationship but the israeli people want to see from the president he is truly committed to having their back when it comes to iran and continuing to support them as the middle east essentially continues to explode and implode, choose whatever phrase you want there. >> again, this is going to be the president's first visit to

the middle east. he did go in 2009 and deliver a speech in cairo. i want to play another part of that speech in which the president talks about israel and palestine. take a listen. >> america's strong bonds with israel are well known. this bond is unbreakable. around the world the jewish people were persecuted for centuries. it is also undeniable the palestinian people, muslims and christians, have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. so let there be no doubt. the situation for the palestinian people is intolerable. america will not turn our backs on the legitimate palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and state of their own. >> how do you think this visit will help the president and benjamin netanyahu's, the perception being reality that they don't have a strong relationship at least to the israeli people with the president being there. >> first and foremost he is

going to make very symbolic visits to institutions important to israel's ancient history. there was always this belief that when the president spoke in cairo he essentially placed the milestone of israel's justification for its creation from the holocaust and that sent a lot of unhappy feelings across israel where all of us who are jewish and who have spent so much time in israel appreciate the fact that israel's ancient roots to that land go back, you know, millenia. so that's an important reset so to speak. the other is that the president needs to convince israelis at a time when there is this looming confrontation with iran that not with standing the personal disagreements that may exist between prime minister netanyahu and the president, that the two of them are more or less in sync about how to deal with iran's nuclear program in the event that iran is not prepared to stop its program. and so that's going to be the big test, how the president eflernlgs this meeting, these

meetings and with his talk to the israeli people. >> ambassador mark ginsberg, great to see you this morning. thank you, sir. we'll bring in our tuesday political power panel. great to see all three of you. i want to start with you because the president is facing a very different landscape in the middle east on this visit compared to '09 the arab spring, toppled regimes and left behind a vastly altered middle east. how fine of a line is the president walking between the old challenges and this new uncertainty that exists? >> that is a very good question. you know, the president going to israel for the first time as president. he's been there before. and it's changed so much as you just said, from when he went to cairo, whole new challenges, whole new circumstances, that he has to deal with. a tattered relationship with the israeli prime minister, and also a lot of people in the region in israel and across the region

wondering what is the united states doing? what role is it going to take in this new landscape? and hopefully, you know, i think from the israelis' point of view, and in the other countries where the president is going to visit they'll get some clue as to how committed the united states is to the stability in the region. >> we talk about this historic trip the president is about to embark on here at home and we are memorializing the ten-year anniversary of the beginning of the iraq war and as we look at the human toll, 4500 american troops killed over 32,000 americans wounded action. there are 130,000 iraqi civilians killed in the materiel toll $806 billion spent on war ops and $60 billion in reconstruction. $15 million the average spent per day by the american taxpayers. just today 50 people were killed in car bombings in the capital of baghdad. as we look back, what lessons have we learned as a people from the toll of what that war has

meant? >> those are some staggering numbers, thomas. and it's not a surprise that you see both americans for a long time according to gallup now for years, a majority have said that this was a mistake. if you look at surveys among iraqis you see that while they feel their security has improved they also feel their economic condition has worsened and more say corruption and other kinds of instability are more -- worse than better. and i think the lesson going forward is thinking -- being very careful about how we enter these kinds of engagements around the world. not just the reason behind them but also the execution. and i think both of those pieces when you look at the total it costs in terms of financial costs, in iraq 70% of those killed are civilians. i mean, these numbers are really tragic and i think they give us a lot to think about when we think about the entire region and conflicts around the world. >> when we look at the american people though as a whole there is this new abc news/"the washington post" poll asking americans if the iraq war was

worth fighting. just 38% said yes. 58% said no. a republican administration we all know led the campaign to get us into that war. does political fallout still linger for the gop from this? >> yeah. when you lose so much blood and treasure these are the questions you ask. the war we started ten years ago is probably not the war we finished. when we have those in real numbers when you talk about the money we spent and more importantly the lives we've lost and the lives we've affected it's a very tough issue for the gop. i asked my brother, who spent 28 years of his life defending our country was it worth it? he said we took out a very bad man in saddam hussein. we don't know what that would have done if we didn't do that. he thought it was worth it. and so i always ask that to the military people. what do you think? they're the ones that laid down their lives and they think it was worth it. >> 58% say no but as we look at the numbers compared to what we saw ten years ago in 2000, more than 70% supported the war at the time. >> right. >> also in 2003 more than 40% said it was necessary to find weapons of mass destruction, what we all believed as a country was there.

and then former bush speechwriter david frum wrote in "the daily beast" this week if the war achieves positive gains it is unnecessary costs in human life, money, to the prestige and credibility of the u.s. government are daunting and dismaying if we found the wmd it would have been different. it totally would have been different but we didn't. >> sure. right. >> so are the american people more likely to question the challenge of this country being capable and on a proper premise to go into war? >> absolutely. i mean, those poll numbers that you cited way back when, ten years ago, were reflective of what the american people were told by its government, by its president, its secretary of state, its secretary of defense. the case was made for going to war with iraq. you know, in a time of war the american people rally around the president. but as more information came out, as more facts and

corrections of the record came out, the american people saw that they were in essence lied to about getting into a war, not one of necessity but one of choice. and so i think going forward, particularly with the saber rattling with iran and what's being talked about with north korea and its belligerence, the american people are going to be very cautious. i should say more cautious than they were in 2003 about supporting another war being waged by the united states. >> our power panel today jonathan capehart, margie o'mara, chip saltsman, thank you all very much. stay with msnbc for continuing coverage of the president's trip to the middle east. coming up next congress works to avoid a government shutdown but no matter what they do voters are giving them a thumbs down. we'll be joined by congresswoman blackburn next. plus, sentencing day for a teen who went on a killing rampage last year. he has guilt written all over

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so the senate is expected to pass a spending bill today that will fund the government for the rest of the year. now, the bill cleared a vote cut off debate yesterday with bipartisan support and as expected to pass the house later this week. next up the bigger fight though. the long-term budget deficit and the house is poised to take up congressman paul ryan's budget tomorrow. joining me right now republican congresswoman marsha blackburn of tennessee. i want to start by showing everybody the new poll numbers. both sides have taken a hit when it comes to the budget hit. 67% disapprove of the way the president has dealt with the budget. 79% disapprove of the

republicans on this. people at home think it's just absolutely ridiculous. will those numbers push both sides to find a compromise before it's too late, before the numbers continue to go down any further? >> you. thomas, i think you're right. they do want to see a resolution to this and what they're wanting to see a resolution to first is the out of control spending. get this out of control spending under control. and that's what we hear from both sides of the aisle, from our constituents, regardless of whether they're democrat, independent, republican, libertarian, you name it. they say, washington spends too much. you don't have a revenue problem. you have a spending problem. get it all under control. that is what we've done in the ryan budget is try to find a way to within ten years come into balance and make all of this get back on a spending plan so we move to a healthy, productive economy that will also help grow our way out of the situation. >> congresswoman, one thing, we

have house speaker john boehner and the republican senator rand paul. they have differing views on whether we're truly in a debt crisis at this moment or not. take a listen. >> we do not have an immediate debt crisis. but we all know that we have one looming. >> we do have an immediate problem. it's gathering storm. it's going to be enormous. >> all right. gathering storm. it's going to be enormous. how come there is such a disparity among republicans not being on the same page of whether we're in a debt crisis or not? >> well, i think you could look at $16 trillion worth of debt and while it may not be a crisis today, it is definitely a problem and rand paul is right. it is looming and it is going to be an enormous deal because if you stayed with the president's budget, the path that it puts you on is by 2022 you're going to have $25 trillion worth of debt. and what we are saying and what speaker boehner is saying is we still have time to manage

through this so that it does not get away from us. managing through it means that we stop the out of control spending. that we stabilize our trust funds -- medicare and social security -- and that we deal with our entitlements. the largest of which is medicaid. and house republicans have a plan. >> the president has put the cuts potentially for entitlement programs on the table. the big lynch pin here is discussing revenue. that's not an option within -- >> the president got his revenue. he got that first. he got his revenue first. >> it was a compromise on revenue of what the president wanted. >> well, he got his revenue. he has gotten his revenue. obama care has 21 new taxes. my goodness. i'd like to get rid of obama care in total and rid of those taxes. you've got to look at some of these other components of the problem. and you cannot tax your way out of this.

i quite frankly liked the op-ed in "the wall street journal" today that showed our budget with the stablization pulling back on all of those spending components and putting ourselves in a position of growth would give us household income growth of $1500 in 2014 and $4,000 per household within this ten-year window. and what we're saying is, you've got to get this under control. now, the president wants to continue to spend and put new spending in place by getting new revenues. that's not workable. the american people don't want that. they want to see some spending restraints, some control, some common sense brought to bear in this budget process. >> congresswoman, i want to get you on the record about senator rand paul coming out in support of comprehensive immigration reform. right now it looks like rand paul the senate gang of eight

and democrats and the house speaker on a path to citizenship. is it time for republicans to figure out what their proper tune is on this and come to a comprehensive message on immigration reform? >> quite frankly i like the fact that we are having a big tent discussion about this. i'm one of those individuals that says, let's talk about a path to a green card. rand paul says a path to citizenship is what i read today. but see the thing is this. we are having a good discussion. we're not all on talking points and everybody making the same point. you've got our side of the aisle having a good discussion with our constituents about these issues, quite frankly, i think that is really healthy and what the american people want to see. >> congresswoman marsha blackburn, thank you so much for joining me today. >> good to be with you. thank you. >> we'll have an opportunity to speak with minority whip steny hoyer in a few mints as well. also we'll have more on hillary clinton's evolution of marriage equality. what it means ahead for the supreme court taking up the

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developing right now on msnbc if you are one of the millions who sell and buy on ebay a ruling of the supreme court today impacts you. the court ruled people who buy products overseas are free to turn around and sell them. the court ruled in favor of a thai graduate student here in the u.s. who sold textbooks on ebay. here is a look at other stories topping the news. an ohio teen who pled guilty in a deadly shooting rampage was sentenced to three life sentences without the chance of parole but it was t.j. lange's t-shirt that caught people's attention. he wrote the word "killer" on

that t-shirt. two teen girls from steubenville, ohio were arrested for posting online threats against the victim in the rape case in that town. the girls aged 15 and 16 are being held in juvenile detention. police say the former student found dead in his university of central florida dorm room was originally planning a massive attack on the campus. his body was found with a self-inflicted wound along with weapons, explosive devices, and ammunition. a crowd of up to 200,000 gathered in front of the vatican this morning for a special mass marking the pope's inauguration. pope francis called on world leaders to protect the poor as well as protect the environment. tens of thousands currently without power this morning after a massive hail storm hit the south. at least two people were killed and one final winter blast before the start of the spring season tomorrow. much of the northeast hit with snow, sleet, and hail. some areas in new england could see more than a foot of snow. and the producers of the cable mini series "the bible" say it is utter nonsense their satan character resembles the president. in fact, he was playing satan

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we help you shine every day of the week. welcome black. the war in iraq began shock and awe. we all remember that. before it was over more than 4400 u.s. troops and 100,000 iraqis were killed in an effort to bring down saddam hussein. after months of the bush administration's hard sell to go in. >> simply stated there is no doubt saddam hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. >> the problem here is that there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly he can acquire nuclear weapons. we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud the days of iraq acting as an outlaw state are coming to an end. >> we'd like to bring into our conversation today democratic congressman tammy duckworth of

illinois, a purple heart recipient, iraq war vet who lost both legs while serving there. thank you for joining me today. you said you did not agree with the iraq war. as we look back on all of the mistakes, the mishandling of this war, what are your thoughts? is it strictly that iraq is better off without saddam in charge? >> well, i think that there's no doubt that iraq is better off without saddam around. the man was a mass murderer and a tyrant over his own people. i think the world is in a better place without saddam hussein. i just don't know that it was worth over a trillion dollars that we spent. the lives of our heroic men and women in uniform. you know, we have now over 1 million new veterans. 4,000 service members were killed. many tens of thousands more wounded. looking back i just wish we had a better discussion, more honest discussion of the reason for going to war in iraq. >> as you bring up the new vets, the defense secretary chuck

hagel released a statement today saying every man and woman who served in iraq carries with them the scars of war. as we remember these quiet heroes this week we are reminded of their families, sacrifices, as we also honor and thank them. congresswoman do you think the government, that we as an american people were doing enough to help our vets of iraq and the afghan wars? >> i think there's always more that can be done. i do think that we are doing more now for the iraq and afghanistan veterans than our nation has ever done for veterans of any of our previous eras. could we do more? absolutely. we are still losing our military men and women who fought in iraq to the scourge of suicide and mental health and untreated brain injuries. we'll be taking care of these men and women for the next 60 years. many of them are 20 years old and will live into their 80s. we have a long way to go in serving them. >> as you look at the extended outlook, the new analysis the cost of war showing the government is going to be paying for both wars over the next 100

years because of the costs to the service members and their families, and as we have this big budget battle going on in washington right now, how do we implement those economic lessons learned from these wars moving ahead? >> i think that we have an honest discussion of what the cost of war is. the next time we consider the next conflict we may enter into. it's one of the reasons why i n iran -- if we're going to talk about invading iran we need an honest discussion about what the cost will be and lessons from iraq and afghanistan should certainly inform that discussion. >> thank you for taking time out. i know you have to get back to work. >> i do. thank you. joining me right now former nato commander general wesley clark and david cornin msnbc political analyst and d.c. analyst from "mother jones". his reporting was the basis for the msnbc documentary "hubris, selling the iraq war." good to have you here. general, former british prime minister tony blair says he has no regrets when it comes to

looking back on iraq. take a listen. >> this was the most difficult decision i ever took and the most balanced decision. personally i still believe we were better off. >> no wmd, no weapons of mass destruction but leaders of this war feel that better served iraq by getting rid of saddam. i think it's a good thing we got rid of saddam. but the planning and the preparation for what happened next was woefully inadequate. we knew it but we had done haiti. we had done bonsya, we had already gone into iraq before afghanistan. we knew better. and yet inside the pentagon there was a hubris. and there was a reluctance to look at what happened once we got to baghdad. >> why weren't consequences better evaluated? >> because they knew if you e l evaluated the consequences you'd think twice before you did it. >> in the documentary "hubris" former secretary of state colin powell said he had his doubts. here is lawrence wilkerson

former chief of staff to powell. >> powell walked into my office and walked over to the window and said i wonder what'll happen when we put 500,000 troops into iraq and comb the country from one end to the other and find nothing. >> david, do you think the lessons about intelligence, what has been learned, that in today's landscape that insiders will be more prone to blow the whistle? >> one can only hope. they do that at their peril. they would lose their job. back when we were arguing about the war, about the invasion of iraq before the invasion, there were people inside the bureaucracy, the national security agencies, who knew the intelligence was iffy. on occasion they would give anonymous quotes to people in the media. they got sort of low bald and downplayed. but they didn't come forward because they'd lose their job. we still, you know, there was plenty. this is what's tragic here. there was plenty of indications that the bush/cheney crowd were not telling the full truth and more importantly could not be trusted with the invasion and the post invasion plans.

yet a lot of people, even liberal democrats, went along with this because they felt bum rushed into this war and couldn't say no. so even general clark can say it wasn't prepared well. we knew going in that the people who were going to be running the invasion were not to be trusted yet people did not stand up, not many, and said no. >> today we have the information the most deadly day, more than 50 killed in the suicide blast, in iraq. how does that country stabilize itself to move forward after what happened ten years ago? >> well, it is going to be a long struggle to do that. it's a three way contest inside iraq. it's not just the shia kurds and the sunni. it's al qaeda in there trying to use the political tensions for its own purposes. you've got iran working across through the shia. >> didn't we provide al qaeda the opportunity to do that? >> and iran. we made both mistakes. we did not understand the strategic consequences of what we were doing.

we didn't really look at it. the invasion of iraq was a solution. >> some people did though. david, you were saying? >> some people did say before hand this was a strategic error. they were just not given air time. they were not paid heed to. >> sure. >> so everything that's gone wrong in iraq was indeed predicted by people who knew the region better than the people in the white house and better than a lot of members of congress. >> i was one of them who had my great reservations about going into this conflict and a number of us testified and there were a number of people in the press who talked about this. it got no traction. because essentially the administration decided they were going to do this. they actually made a decision to do it within a few days after 9/11. they were waiting. in fact on 9/11 itself rumsfeld sent a note to the white house saying isn't the opportunity we've been looking for to invade iraq? they wanted that invasion. >> the problem was the media and a lot of people in congress,

democrats, senate republicans, went along and didn't challenge them even when they had the material with which to challenge them. so, yes. bush and cheney pulled off a hoax in a lot of ways. but a lot of people let themselves be hoaxed. >> thank you so much. just a reminder for everybody. this friday watch the msnbc documentary "hubris, selling the iraq war" hosted by our rachel maddow friday, 9:00 p.m. eastern here on msnbc. thanks again. one week from now the supreme court takes up marriage equality. hearing arguments on california's proposition 8 on tuesday and then doma on wednesday. lbgt groups are planning over 100 events across the country to mark the historic legal debate. this is as a new abc news/"the washington post" poll shows support for marriage equality is at an all-time high riding at 58%. joining me to talk more about this is marriage equality director brian silva. it is great to have you here. as we talk more about that poll and we dig deeper we look at the evaluation of the youth vote. 18-year-olds to 29-year-olds.

they back marriage equality at a wlo whopping 81%. yesterday hillary clinton came outputting that statement on vhrc website. her husband came out on march 7th for marriage equality to strike down doma. we have senator portman coming out. we have huntsman that's come out for marriage equality. has the tide turned? >> yes. there is a reason i have a big smile on my face. it's been a great time for marriage equality. we have folks across the political spectrum, the faith, the age spectrum. the super majority of americans believe in the freedom to marry. "the washington post" poll with 58% that came out yesterday is a huge bellwether of where we're going with this issue. >> last night a congressman quoted when hillary clinton and rob portman agree it is time to move on. is that really where we are? there is republican intransigence on the issue and how this is, while there has been a sea change of public opinion, our elected leaders seem slow to realize that. >> we live in a country where people are allowed to have

differences of opinions on things but we also live in a country that believes in equality and fairness. i think that is what we're seeing is even when people might personally disagree with the issue what they know is all americans should be treated the same. all people should be allowed to marry the person they love in civil marriage. i think that is where the agreement is coming together that that's where this country is strongest when we move forward like this. >> do you think, though, when a lot of people are evaluating 2016 and look at hillary clinton's statement as maybe a first wave of making sure that that's out of her way? but from the republican side do you think we could see a republican candidate in 2016 that is marriage equality, for marriage equality? >> absolutely. you have over a hundred republicans signing the amickus brief for the supreme court case going forward next week. republicans all over the place are in favor of marriage equality. i think the time is right for even more of them in political office and those that are looking for the future to come out in favor. it is going to become a plus not a liability.

>> thank you so much. you can learn more about the group and the events planned by going to marriage equality.org. the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. ♪ i'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. ♪ so today, i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder symptoms. [ female announcer ] know that gotta go feeling? ask your doctor about prescription toviaz. one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents, for 24 hours. if you have certain stomach problems or glaucoma, or can not empty your bladder, you should not take toviaz. get emergency medical help right away if your face, lips, throat or tongue swells. toviaz can cause blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness and decreased sweating. do not drive, operate machinery or do unsafe tasks until you know how toviaz affects you. the most common side effects are dry mouth and constipation. talk to your doctor about toviaz.

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gecko: don't look at me. don't look at me. as congress works to clear the next hurdle before next week's budget fight, the respective caucuses have just closed their doors on the republican budget for next year. meanwhile the sequester cuts start to kick in and president obama is getting flack for canceling white house tours. now there is word -- no it's not. all right. so thanks so much. we'll check in with our kelly o'donnell on mark sanford. we just showed you the video. kelly, you're there for me, right? >> reporter: i can hear you, thomas. i'm not sure you can see me. >> yes, i can see and hear you and it looks like you have beautiful trees in south carolina behind you. let's talk about south carolina. it is primary day down there. mark sanford been getting a lot

of press and a lot of the coverage i've been reading about is this is going to be a street fight for how this will advance. >> well, this is one of those occasions, thomas, where the sheer number of candidates makes this so unpredictable. it's rare to have an opening like this in south carolina politics where people in office tend to stay a long time. so 16 republicans jumped in, including the former governor, and his case is particularly noteworthy because he had the very public personal affair and that was such a difficulty at the final bid of his term as governor where he was a national headline. it was so difficult. he sort of dropped out of public sight after that and he was putting himself forward for a job he had in the '90s representing the first district. on the democratic side there's been a lot of attention given to a woman named elizabeth colbert bush the sister of the tv funny man stephen colbert and she is a

businesswoman with long ties in this community and has excited democrats. what happens today? we're wondering about turnout. it can be low on special elections. and there are a number of notable republicans who hold office here who are competing. there is a conventional wisdom that mark sanford is likely to come out on top today but with so many candidates we do expect there could be a run-off and then it would be the republican, some say sanford, up against the democrat. some say colbert bush. it's been an exciting race. we've been talking to voters. people have said they've been overwhelmed with the ads on tv. they didn't get ads during the presidential race in south carolina because this was not a state up for grabs. but they have been blanketed in recent weeks with these congressional ads. it's been fun to visit folks here and they are very interested in the outcome. south carolina politics is always something to watch. >> kelly o'donnell reporting from beautiful charleston. looks gorgeous there today. thanks so much. coming up next house minority whip steny hoyer says the dems should have gone over the fiscal cliff.

it would have been better as a bargaining chip. so what should dems do now? i'll ask congressman hoyer after this. the travel industry expects 2013 to be a big year for the boomer travel market. with many retiring and more time to travel the over 50 set are hitting the road. where are they traveling? travel watch surveyed their subscribers and found the number one boomer destination was mexico. warm weather and beaches also made hawaii and the caribbean places where boomers are kicking back and enjoying life. [ male announcer ] this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪

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welcome back, everybody, the sequester cuts will kick in next week and president obama is getting some flack for canceling white house tours that will affect the easter egg roll for lots of kids and their parents that get invited to the white house. so what does this mean? we'll check in with congressman stenny hoyer, a democrat from maryland. maybe you can fill us in on what politico is pointing out when republicans and democrats are in jeopardy of losing their seats because of the sequester. it looks like the constituents really aren't buying into the blame game here of the finger-pointing back and forth. both sides are taking a hit. what happened to getting a deal? >> i think the american people want us to adopt a common-sense path forward and get us to fiscal sustainability. they understand that we haven't

been managing the finances of the country the way we ought to be. we're in debt. and they also need to know we're interested in growing the economy. we need jobs. we think the democratic alternatives that both that senator murray is offering in the senate and chris van holland is offering in the house do that while the republican budget offered by mr. ryan and the who us will have a devastating effect, not only on average working americans, but on job creation in this country. we don't think it's a real budget. we think that the consequences of the policies that are included in that budget would be very devastating to the country and to middle class families and the working people. >> sir, does this mean, though, that we're headed for a government shutdown like we lived through in '95 and '96? >> we're talking about two different things, the budget and the cr, the continuing resolution, the funding past march 27th for government enterprises, i think we'll pass that. i hope we'll pass it this week.

i senate i think is going to pass it hopefully late tonight. we'll send it over to us and i expect us to pass it on thursday. the senate passed version is better than the house version. it's not a good version. we should substitute as both the murray budget does and the van holland budget does, substitute for the sequester, not adopt the sequester numbers. sequester as i say starts with s, which stands for stupid. it's an irrational way to reduce government spending, we need to reduce spending. we need to raise some additional revenues and balance our budget. but the sequester is a dumb way to do it. it's unfortunate that we went forward with it. >> you think the cr will be voted through by thursday? tomorrow the house will be bringing up ryan's budget. >> yes, the cr is a continuing resolution to fund government. the budget is the plan for 2014 going forward. i think the cr probably will pass. this weekend. very frankly, if it doesn't pass

this week, we ought not to recess for the easter break. we ought to be here next week until we pass the cr and make sure the government doesn't shut down. the sequester is dumb, shutting down government is even dumber. i'm hopeful that we will move in that direction. but i'm also hopeful that we will come to our senses and adopt a rational responsible budget for the coming year. the ryan budget is all a pipe dream and not a plan that's responsible way forward. >> and i think we're going to make that point on the floor. i think the van holland budget will be perceived by many, certainly in our party, as a rational way forward and then we'll go to conference. if the ryan budget passes, hopefully we'll be able to sit down with the ryan budget, with the murray budget hopefully both pass in the senate and the house and come to a common-sense agreement. that's what the american people want us to do. >> congressman steny hoyer,

thanks for your time. that's going to wrap things up for me. thanks for your time today, "now" with alex wagner comes your way next. happen anytime --! like when i ran to catch the train to work and a draft blew my skirt up and everybody here saw my unmentionables. yeah, and they aren't even cute. hello, laundry day. no... [ female announcer ] stress sweat can happen to anyone, anytime -- and it smells worse than ordinary sweat. get 4x the protection against stress sweat. introducing new secret clinical strength stress response scent. ♪ a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left. i don't think so. [ male announcer ] for years, bob took warfarin, and made a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested.

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